Mary Barra, Meg Whitman, Indra Nooyi: These are just three of the women who have successfully broken through the notorious “glass ceiling” to become CEOs of large public firms. Although women are still underrepresented at the top of corporations, there is growing interest in understanding whether men and women have different experiences as CEOs.
Research: Activist Investors Are More Likely to Target Female CEOs
Yet again, women are held to a higher standard.
January 22, 2018
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Summary.
Although women are still underrepresented at the top of corporations, there is growing interest in understanding whether men and women have different experiences as CEOs. Research examines whether male and female CEOs are treated differently by activist investors, who pressure firms to alter or change their strategic policies and decisions. It found that female CEOs face greater threat of shareholder activism than male CEOs, and suggests that the reason may be due to the “think manager, think male” stereotype. With shareholder activism on the rise in American financial markets, the finding that female CEOs are targeted more than male CEOs is troubling, as it can perpetuate negative gender stereotypes of female executives.